USAGE:
“Martinson called the cops and told them to get a patrol car to her house toot sweet.”

4. parry (PAR-ee)

MEANING:
verb tr.: To ward off or evade.
noun: A defensive movement or an evasive answer.

ETYMOLOGY:
From French parez (ward off), imperative of parer (to ward off), from Latin parare (to set or prepare).

USAGE:
“In the way Ryan Gosling parried questions with polite, self-deprecating charm, you could still see the Canadian in him.”

5. Mayday or mayday (MAY-day)

MEANING:
noun: A distress signal; a call for help.

ETYMOLOGY:
Mayday is an international radio distress signal used by ships and aircraft to call for help. It’s a phonetic respelling of French m’aider, from venez m’aider (come and help me), from venir (to come) + me (me) + aider (to help).

USAGE:
“Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter flew to the aid of a yachtsman who made a mayday call this morning off the coast of Raglan.”

“Rooms [at Hotel Bel-Air are] so high-tech I felt like a 747 pilot. Helpful techies arrived promptly no matter how often I radioed Mayday.”